NationStates Jolt Archive

So, I'm in Central Texas (Austin), and just heard the news that apparently Hurricane Rita is coming inland, pretty much making a beeline for the north. I've been told it's 'cause I pissed off God, which I would be inclined to believe.

Anyone have any actual details on the expected damage it's gonna do as it progresses inland?

come up here to Iowa,you'll love it here.It's a great place for refugees

last i heard it was going to dip inland, but only slightly, then head back to sea and hit nova scotia. but that's several days out of date, so projections may have changed.

I have family in Dallas and he said that they're expecting 85-90 mile an hour winds.

Look it up at www.weatherunderground.com They have the easiest to use web site for weather that I've found.

Well Rita won't get as powerful as that damn Katrina. I seriously doubt it will cause great losses, from what I heard it has just become an hurricane, and before becoming a bloody hurricane it was a tropical storm.

its category 3

seriously, this had better not turn into a huge-scale, life destroying humanitarian catastrophy due to nearly criminal neglegence and mismanagement. because we've not finished complaining about when that happened last month.

Gee. So many hurricanes, typhoons and tsunami have come to the world recently.
America, and concurrently and before that, Japan. Then even before that Indonesia.

And now Rita.
I hope that you all stay safe and no-one gets hurt.

They say it is heading toward Galviston and thus Houston. Galveston is nothing more than a settled barrier island, and Houston is a god damn swamp. Houston is not as bad as New Orleans, but its still kind of bad. If it hits hopfully it will hit somewhere inbetween Corpus Christi and Galveston where it is not as urban.

Either way, lots of rain for Texas and that means a lot of flooding. Man, its time for me to get my kyak and get ready to rush down Barton Creek, yahoo!

Look it up at www.weatherunderground.com They have the easiest to use web site for weather that I've found.

Wunderground is my favorite too. I set it up my home page - weather at a glance and access to technical meteorology as well.

Here's one for hurricanes: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

My old hometown paper (http://www.thefacts.com/) and the NHC both put my old hometown square in the crosshairs. I am sooo glad my family has all moved away from the area.

However, if it gets to cat. 4 or worse, and does hit that area square, the US's oil and chemical industries are in for a big bite.

My old hometown paper (http://www.thefacts.com/) and the NHC both put my old hometown square in the crosshairs. I am sooo glad my family has all moved away from the area.

However, if it gets to cat. 4 or worse, and does hit that area square, the US's oil and chemical industries are in for a big bite.
Wow, I completely forgot about the oil and chemical industries in Texas. Yeah, that'll be a definite blow if something happens to them..

There's a mandatory evacuation for Galveston, Houston's voluntary so far, and they're being told to head to Austin (where I'm at), and San Antonio. I hope it'll have dissipated severely by the time it reaches me, so it's no more than rain.

last i heard it was going to dip inland, but only slightly, then head back to sea and hit nova scotia. but that's several days out of date, so projections may have changed.


That was Ophelia. Rita's in the Gulf of Mexico. Current projection is landfall in about 3-4 days somewhere between Lake Charles, LA and Brownsville TX. Most likely around Houston.

I just want to be the first one to say that whatever happens as a result of Hurricane Rita, it's all Bush's fault. :rolleyes:

Well Rita won't get as powerful as that damn Katrina. I seriously doubt it will cause great losses, from what I heard it has just become an hurricane, and before becoming a bloody hurricane it was a tropical storm.

According to the website I saw earlier Katrina was a Category 4 when she hit New Orleans...Rita is expected to become a Category 4, hit a cool spot in the Gulf and weaken, then go back into warmer water(strengthening-possibly to 5), before hitting land between Port O'Connor and Port Lavaca(well, some say Houston and Galveston, which I think is basically the same). Of course, some high pressure system could cause Rita to just turn before reaching land-it's kinda up in the air for now.

All hurricanes start out as tropical storm...well, scratch that.

All hurricanes start out as tropical depressions, then upgrade to tropical storms at a certain point, and upgrade to a category 1 hurricane at another point.

I live in Cuero...which is about 2 hours southeast of San Antonio...we wouldn't get the absolute worst of it, but it won't be a picnic in the park either.

Houston, huh? Isn't that where most of the Katrina refugees are? Maybe the original presumption that it's punishment from God has some ground? Personally I doubt it but this has to be pretty nerve-wracking for all those refugees.

Houston, huh? Isn't that where most of the Katrina refugees are? Maybe the original presumption that it's punishment from God has some ground? Personally I doubt it but this has to be pretty nerve-wracking for all those refugees.

They were there. The remainder (most have been transferred to Austin, btw, a week or two ago, and the remainder scattered throughout Texas) were flown to Arkansas.

My brother and I are speculating that the world is gonna end soon.

We are getting awfully close to that December 23, 2012 due date the Mayans gave us...who knows? Maybe mother nature is getting a head start now.

This year has been kind of crazy. Tsunamis, Katrina, possibly Rita, plagues and stampedes in the Middle East, bombings in London, mild snow in SOUTH Texas...

(The other day, when Bush Addressed the NAtion, wouldn't it have been hilarious if he'd given a 9/11 speech, just with terror replaced with weather, and terrorists replaced with hurricanes?)

Wow, I completely forgot about the oil and chemical industries in Texas. Yeah, that'll be a definite blow if something happens to them.

Having grown up in the Brazosport area (around Freeport, or just about an hour south of Houston for those not familiar with Texas geography), it's hard to forget - the whole area seems like it's one giant chemical plant/oil refinery from Texas City on down the coast for a couple of hundred miles. In the Brazosport area is Dow Chemical's largest plant complex. Also in the area, ExxonMobil, Chevron Phillips, Phillips 66 Co., BASF, Monsanto, Du Pont, Shell, and many others have large facilities in the area where Rita is most likely to hit.

There's a mandatory evacuation for Galveston, Houston's voluntary so far, and they're being told to head to Austin (where I'm at), and San Antonio. I hope it'll have dissipated severely by the time it reaches me, so it's no more than rain.

Evacuee's from my home town are being sent to shelters in the College Station area - I don't know which is worse - riding out the storm on the coas, in the middle of a bunch of chemical plants and refineries or at College Station in the middle of a bunch of Aggies. :eek:

And, yeah, it should dissipate enough by the time it gets to ya'll.

Having grown up in the Brazosport area (around Freeport, or just about an hour south of Houston for those not familiar with Texas geography), it's hard to forget - the whole area seems like it's one giant chemical plant/oil refinery from Texas City on down the coast for a couple of hundred miles. In the Brazosport area is Dow Chemical's largest plant complex. Also in the area, ExxonMobil, Chevron Phillips, Phillips 66 Co., BASF, Monsanto, Du Pont, Shell, and many others have large facilities in the area where Rita is most likely to hit.
Whoa. And people in this area still turn out genetically fine? :-p I've just driven through some of the oil areas in North Texas, so it's easy to forget.

Evacuee's from my home town are being sent to shelters in the College Station area - I don't know which is worse - riding out the storm on the coas, in the middle of a bunch of chemical plants and refineries or at College Station in the middle of a bunch of Aggies. :eek:

And, yeah, it should dissipate enough by the time it gets to ya'll.

Hmm...I'd say being surrounded by Aggies is worse. Chemical residue'll wear off, and short term exposure is fine...But..I hear stupidity is catching. *grins*

Well, I hope so. Imagine Sixth Street and The Drag flooded!

My brother and I are speculating that the world is gonna end soon.

We are getting awfully close to that December 23, 2012 due date the Mayans gave us...who knows? Maybe mother nature is getting a head start now.

This year has been kind of crazy. Tsunamis, Katrina, possibly Rita, plagues and stampedes in the Middle East, bombings in London, mild snow in SOUTH Texas...

(The other day, when Bush Addressed the NAtion, wouldn't it have been hilarious if he'd given a 9/11 speech, just with terror replaced with weather, and terrorists replaced with hurricanes?)


Yeah, I couldn't believe the snow in Texas' Rio Grande Valley. I grew up there, and know from experience that people put on heavy coats if the temperature falls below 60. They probably did think it was a sign of the Apocalypse.

Whoa. And people in this area still turn out genetically fine? :-p I've just driven through some of the oil areas in North Texas, so it's easy to forget.

Take a gander at these:
Facilities Contributing to Cancer Hazards in Texas (http://www.scorecard.org/env-releases/state-facility-ranks.tcl?fips_state_code=48&type=tep&category=cancer&modifier=NA)
and Facilities Contributing to Noncancer Hazards in Texas (http://www.scorecard.org/env-releases/state-facility-ranks.tcl?fips_state_code=48&type=tep&category=noncancer&modifier=NA)

Note how many are on the central coast.

My folks both worked for Dow (30 and 15 years), and dad worked at a certain Y-12 National Laboratory in Oak Ridge (he engineered nuclear warheads), so if anyone's genetically screwed...

Hmm...I'd say being surrounded by Aggies is worse. Chemical residue'll wear off, and short term exposure is fine...But..I hear stupidity is catching. *grins*

Well, I hope so. Imagine Sixth Street and The Drag flooded![/QUOTE]

True story: Many years ago, we had a 22' sailboat. One year, we went up to lake Somerville for Labor Day weekend. After arriving, we put up the mast. As dad was halfway down the boat ramp, a pickup full of Aggies with a big A&M window sticker pulled up. The guys all hopped out to watch. One guy asked where we we from. After we said, he then asked, in all earnestness, "How'd you get that boat all the way up here with that mast sticking up like that?" :p

My take: Seeing that there is a high pressure ridge in Texas and Louisiana, I see that the hurricane could perhaps get pushed towards a path more towards Mexico. One computer model sees that as a possiblity. Possibly right along the Rio Grande. I do not see this hurricane reaching category 5 strength (absolutely not). I do however see it at a strong category 3 (or weak category 4).

http://maps.wunderground.com/data/images/at200518_model.gif

I see the NOGAPS model perhaps being the path it would take. However, computer models could be totally inaccurate and could change. I'll have to keep in mind, but remember about the high pressure ridge in Texas/Louisiana.

Oh and to the person predicting the end of the world: Please get a reality check. There has been a lot of shit going down this last century. 1933 was one of the most active hurricane years (by far more then this year), and 1995 was one of the most violent (with the most landfalls. Why didn't you predict the end in 1993-1995 when all those people were being slaughtered in Africa? The mayans never gave us any stupid date. Their calender just ended then. I'm sure if their civilization was still around, they would come up with a new one. If I was as paranoid as the doomsayers are and I was like 110 years old, I would of predicted the world would end back in the 1930s when everything was going to hell in a handbasket. Or in the 1910s with the Spanish flu.

And for goodness sakes... the 1980s was one of the most deadly with volcanic eruptions... take one in Colombia.. there was an eruption in 1985, that led to the deaths of 20,000 people. And there have been tsunamis for who knows how long.. the 1880s-1890s were of particular note for huge tsunamis.

Seriously, this is the way our planet is. Volatile. There won't be any ending of the world anytime soon (not until the sun grows into a red giant)... but we have to learn to live with this. Heck, this was the way it is.. and has always been. Hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes... that's just nature.

My take: Seeing that there is a high pressure ridge in Texas and Louisiana, I see that the hurricane could perhaps get pushed towards a path more towards Mexico. One computer model sees that as a possiblity. Possibly right along the Rio Grande. I do not see this hurricane reaching category 5 strength (absolutely not). I do however see it at a strong category 3 (or weak category 4).

http://maps.wunderground.com/data/images/at200518_model.gif

I see the NOGAPS model perhaps being the path it would take. However, computer models could be totally inaccurate and could change. I'll have to keep in mind, but remember about the high pressure ridge in Texas/Louisiana.

Oh and to the person predicting the end of the world: Please get a reality check. There has been a lot of shit going down this last century. 1933 was one of the most active hurricane years (by far more then this year), and 1995 was one of the most violent (with the most landfalls. Why didn't you predict the end in 1993-1995 when all those people were being slaughtered in Africa? The mayans never gave us any stupid date. Their calender just ended then. I'm sure if their civilization was still around, they would come up with a new one. If I was as paranoid as the doomsayers are and I was like 110 years old, I would of predicted the world would end back in the 1930s when everything was going to hell in a handbasket. Or in the 1910s with the Spanish flu.

And for goodness sakes... the 1980s was the most violent with Volcanoes... take one in Colombia.. there was an eruption in 1985, that led to the deaths of 20,000 people. And there have been tsunamis for who knows how long.. the 1880s-1890s were of particular note for huge tsunamis.

Seriously, this is the way our planet is. Volatile. There won't be any ending of the world anytime soon (not until the sun grows into a red giant)... but we have to learn to live with this. Heck, this was the way it is.. and has always been. Hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes... that's just nature.


But most of the models show it curling up around and under the pressure ridge to hit mid-coast. However, yes, you are right that it could slam Brownsville. And I hate to say it, but better Brownsville than Houston.... :(

Major Hurricane Rita could strengthen to Cat 5, the NHC said in its 2am EDT release. It's headed DEEP inland after landfall, perhaps as a Cat 4 or 5. Link to projected path (NHC) (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT18/refresh/AL1805W5+gif/024155W_sm.gif)

But most of the models show it curling up around and under the pressure ridge to hit mid-coast. However, yes, you are right that it could slam Brownsville. And I hate to say it, but better Brownsville than Houston.... :(

Well the pressure ridge might force it further down South. I'm hoping for the high pressure ridge to come down lower. i will show a pressure map. For anyone who understands this.. well.. you'll know what the numbers mean. But for those who don't, higher pressure would weaken the storm. Under lower pressure conditions we get storms. Below 970-980 MB for example is favorable for hurricanes.

It could also take a turn towards Mexico.

http://www.weatherunderground.com/data/models/NAM/US/NAM_US_SURPRE_72.gif?t=0009212005

Notice that the 1008MB reading stretches farther inland. This shows that it may be swayed more towards the border area.

This map shows a prediction of it hitting along the Mexican/US border.

Also I know this may not mean much, but hope that this hurricane speeds up to about 15MPH.. why? If it slows down it could cause some serious damage. Remember Ophelia? It was weak, but drenched North Carolina and caused more damage then expected since it was nearly stationary. If rita slows, that'll be a real bad situation. If it speeds up the damage will be apparent, but not as bad as if it slowed down.

Disclamer: If I'm wrong, oh... I hope I'm not wrong. I hope the high pressure ridge builds up, and gets stronger in Texas. Remember predicting weather.. well.. is not the most reliable thing. This is just what I see projected. Predictions can be unreliable or based on best guesses.

All hurricanes start out as tropical depressions, then upgrade to tropical storms at a certain point, and upgrade to a category 1 hurricane at another point.

Scratch all of that. All hurricanes start as tropical disturbances which turn into tropical waves... and if that gets circulation, it can turn into a tropical depression... and so on. Most tropical storms/hurricanes in the Atlantic have their origins from tropical disturbances/waves that come from Africa, the Caribbean, or the central Atlantic..

Well ... having already swam through the muck in New Orleans after Katrina, I'm certainly looking forward to the joy that will be Rita ...

I live near Houston. *sigh*

It's been a fun season. Florida's still beating us, though.

Well the pressure ridge might force it further down South. I'm hoping for the high pressure ridge to come down lower. i will show a pressure map. For anyone who understands this.. well.. you'll know what the numbers mean. But for those who don't, higher pressure would weaken the storm. Under lower pressure conditions we get storms. Below 970-980 MB for example is favorable for hurricanes.

It could also take a turn towards Mexico.

http://www.weatherunderground.com/data/models/NAM/US/NAM_US_SURPRE_72.gif?t=0009212005

Notice that the 1008MB reading stretches farther inland. This shows that it may be swayed more towards the border area.

This map shows a prediction of it hitting along the Mexican/US border.

Also I know this may not mean much, but hope that this hurricane speeds up to about 15MPH.. why? If it slows down it could cause some serious damage. Remember Ophelia? It was weak, but drenched North Carolina and caused more damage then expected since it was nearly stationary. If rita slows, that'll be a real bad situation. If it speeds up the damage will be apparent, but not as bad as if it slowed down.

Disclamer: If I'm wrong, oh... I hope I'm not wrong. I hope the high pressure ridge builds up, and gets stronger in Texas. Remember predicting weather.. well.. is not the most reliable thing. This is just what I see projected. Predictions can be unreliable or based on best guesses.



Scratch all of that. All hurricanes start as tropical disturbances which turn into tropical waves... and if that gets circulation, it can turn into a tropical depression... and so on. Most tropical storms/hurricanes in the Atlantic have their origins from tropical disturbances/waves that come from Africa, the Caribbean, or the central Atlantic..

And I hope to hell you're right. After Katrina, the US sure as hell doesn't need a cat 4 hitting the Houston-Galveton area. And a cat 5 in that area would be nasty due to the high concentration of oil refineries and chemical/petrochemical facilities.